Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS - Free Report) by 152.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,824 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 8,356 shares during the quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings in Axcelis Technologies were worth $966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Axcelis Technologies by 78,037.4% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 782,155 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $54,649,000 after purchasing an additional 781,154 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Axcelis Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,050,000. Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 50.7% in the fourth quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,036,112 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $72,393,000 after purchasing an additional 348,504 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 61.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 820,116 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $57,302,000 after purchasing an additional 313,689 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,060,096 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $74,069,000 after purchasing an additional 290,678 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on ACLS shares. Craig Hallum reduced their target price on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. William Blair cut shares of Axcelis Technologies from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, B. Riley reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $50.00 price objective (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a report on Monday, April 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $131.00.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Axcelis Technologies stock traded up $4.49 during trading on Monday, reaching $62.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 786,476 shares, compared to its average volume of 648,131. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.93. The firm has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 10.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.52. Axcelis Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.61. The company has a current ratio of 5.41, a quick ratio of 4.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.65. Axcelis Technologies had a net margin of 19.75% and a return on equity of 21.02%. The firm had revenue of $192.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.86 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. Axcelis Technologies's quarterly revenue was down 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Axcelis Technologies, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Axcelis Technologies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, March 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Axcelis Technologies Company Profile

Axcelis Technologies, Inc designs, manufactures, and services ion implantation and other processing equipment used in the fabrication of semiconductor chips in the United States, Europe, and Asia Pacific. The company offers high energy, high current, and medium current implanters for various application requirements.